Obama Health Care Officials Switch Jobs, Reorganize
Besides an array of health care challenges, the new year is bringing changes in the staff putting the new law into effect.
Study Fuels Debate Over Widespread HIV Testing And Its Cost
The wider use of a cheap blood test could help cut the number of new HIV infections by more than 80,000 in the United States over 20 years, but the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force hasn’t come around to that view.
U.K. Health Maps Show A Shared Problem Across The Pond?
Doctors in some areas of Britain do one type of hip replacement at rates up to 16 times greater than in places like London, according to a November atlas by the National Health Service, mirroring a problem Medicare researchers have seen in the U.S.
Scorecard: How Health Industry PACs Placed Their Election Bets
Health-sector PACs – ranging from doctors to hospitals to drug companies – generally favored incumbent Democrats, according to a KHN analysis. Two doctor groups backed more Republicans.
Pawlenty Seeks To Stop Health Law As He Eyes Presidency
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a likely GOP contender for the White House in 2012, publicly opposed the law again this week, this time with a preliminary filing supporting a challenge to the overhaul in a Florida court.
Physician-Owned Hospitals Racing To Meet Health Law Deadline
Nationwide, new physician-owned hospitals are scrambling to open by the end of the year. Beginning Jan. 1, the health law bans them from taking part in Medicare, making it hard for the facilities to survive.
New ‘Innovation’ Chief Comes From ‘Model’ Health Care System
Dr. Richard Gilfillan, the new acting director of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, has quite a juggling act to perform.
Government Economists Say Health Overhaul Won’t Significantly Increase Spending
Economists in the federal Medicare office say health overhaul legislation and other changes made by regulators and Congress since February will only have a “moderate” effect on health spending.
Federal Task Force On Preventive Care Faces New Challenge Under Health Law
Panel’s recommendations on preventive care will determine which services are covered fully by insurance. That could make it a political lightning rod for lobbyists and disease advocates and conflict with its tradition of scholarly dedication to the science of randomized medical trials.
Consumers Can Now Compare Hospitals On Medical Scans
The federal government recently handed consumers a new trove of data about how hospitals use their fancy medical scanners. The implicit message: Avoid hospitals that lean too heavily on devices that can expose you to radiation and other risks.
Want To Know What A Hospital Charges? Good Luck
More than 30 states and Congress have passed laws requiring hospitals to publish their prices, but the information often is of little use to consumers.
Renewed Threat Of Medicare Pay Cuts Leaves Doctors With ‘Sense Of Fatigue’
Doctors across the country find themselves
$5 Billion In Federal Funding For High-Risk Pools May Not Be Enough
A new report says federal funding will not cover the insurance needs of all the people who now have trouble getting coverage because of preexisting conditions. But HHS officials disagree with the findings.
Companies Get Help To Insure Early Retirees
Companies that provide health insurance to retirees who are too young for Medicare may get some financial relief due to a new $5 billion federal program.
Federal Officials Confirm A Shift In Medicaid Drug Rebates
The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services confirms that some discounts states received from drugmakers will now be shifted to the federal government.
States’ Medicaid Funds Tapped For Federal Health Overhaul
The new health care law could shift billions of dollars from cash-strapped states to the federal government by changing the way Medicaid prescription drug rebates are treated.
Waxman Backs Away From Challenge To Big Corporations On Health Costs
A new congressional staff report is quieting the dispute regarding the losses that large corporations were anticipating as a result of the new health law. Rep. Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, cancelled a planned hearing for next week.
Savings From Computerizing Medical Records Are Hard To Measure
A study about the Veterans Administration takes a step towards putting a dollar value on the savings a health care system can get from electronic medical records.
Medicaid Expansion Now Could Save Some States Money
Starting April 1, the first federal funding from the health overhaul law becomes available to expand coverage of Medicaid programs. Some states are seeking to use that money in current programs that cover low-income people who do not qualify for Medicaid.
Closing Medicare Drug Gap Helps Democrats Sell Reform
The health overhaul package passed by Congress will gradually eliminate the so-called Medicare Part D “doughnut hole,” making prescription drugs more affordable for many seniors.
